Final Grant Reports: Washington Environmental Council

At the beginning of the year, we awarded a grant to the Washington Environmental Council. The grant allowed them to study the integration of forest soil protection practices into forest management plans in the Nisqually Forest.

Now, after months of hard work, the WEC is ready to report their results. They have managed to draft a Community Forest Management Plan which includes measures that will: 1) shift away from clear-cut harvests towards management through ecological thinning; 2) grow older, structurally complex forests, increasing woody debris and organic soil layers; 3) identify and avoid disturbing areas with highly erodible soils; 4) maintain road networks and culverts to the highest standard; and 5) use low impact logging techniques during thinning operations.

Review the Washington Environmental Council’s full report here, and come to the WACD’s annual meeting this November to hear WA State Soil Health Committee’s full report on all of our grant projects.